$200K reward offered in Kaufman County DA slayings

No arrests yet in weekend slayings of D.A. Mike McLelland, wife

Gov. Rick Perry urged anyone with information about who killed a Dallas-area district attorney, his wife and an assistant prosecutor to contact law officers as the reward for tips leading to convictions doubled Thursday to $200,000.

Nobody has been arrested in the weekend slayings of Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, nor in the Jan. 31 death of Mark Hasse, an assistant DA gunned down as he arrived for work near the county courthouse.

"We will not let this cower us. Texas is a law-and-order state and we will track down and punish those who have committed this crime," Perry said at a news conference where he was joined by the FBI, sheriff's officials and other law enforcement.

The governor said it was "very premature" to speculate on whether a particular group is responsible. No suspects have been publicly named, but speculation has swirled around a white supremacist prison gang known as the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas, which had been targeted by a task force that included McLelland's office.

Perry attended Thursday's memorial for the McLellands, who were found shot to death Saturday in their house near Forney, about 20 miles east of Dallas. Flags were flown at half-staff Thursday outside the courthouse, which closed for the afternoon so co-workers could also attend the service.

Christina Foreman, the McLellands' daughter, said her parents taught her to do the right thing no matter the danger.

"Cant let the fear of what people going to do to us or say to us, or the fear of them going to do to our families, stop us from doing the right thing. The right thing is never easy," Foreman said.

The McLellands will be buried in Wortham, Texas, on Friday.

The state's $100,000 reward offer matches the one offered by Kaufman County Crime Stoppers after Hasse was slain.

"The public at the end of the day will play the most important part in this," Perry said.

Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge Diego Rodriguez said federal law officers also sought information.

"At this time we're looking at everything available, every single avenue. We're not leaving any stone unturned," he said.

The FBI has launched billboards in five states encouraging people to come forward with information about the slayings. The billboards are posted throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico. The space was donated by the Outdoor Advertising Association of Texas, which includes Clear Channel Outdoor and Lamar Advertising. Additional space was donated by Fairway and CBS.

Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes also encouraged the public to offer any tips, "no matter how minor you think it may be."